Disney, Priceline.com And Lions Gate Entertainment Release Earnings

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) ticked all the right boxes producing a solid fourth-quarter this year. The media and entertainment giant reported Q4 2013 earnings yesterday afternoon after the closing bell that saw revenue increases in all of it business segments. Driven largely by its theme parks and ESPN fees from cable subscribers, the company reported that net income rose 12 percent from the fourth-quarter of 2012. The company earned $0.77 per share, beating consensus analysts’ estimates of $0.76 per share. Total revenue increased 7 percent to $11.6 billion. Net income for all of 2013 totaled $6.1 billion, up 8 percent from last year. Revenue of $45 billion was a 7 percent increase from 2012. EPS for the year increased 8 percent to a record $3.38, compared to $3.13 in the prior year

We’re extremely pleased with our results for Fiscal 2013, delivering record revenue, net income and earnings per share for the third year in a row,” said Robert A. Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company. “It was another great year for the Company, both creatively and financially, and we remain confident that we are well positioned to continue our strong performance and drive long-term shareholder value.”

Online travel company Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ:PCLN) beat the Street as it released earnings results after the market closed yesterday. The company saw third-quarter gross travel bookings of $10.8 billion, a whopping 37.5 percent increase from Q3 of 2012. Gross profit for the quarter was $2.0 billion, a 42.4 percent increase from last year’s quarter. GAAP net income applicable to common shareholders for the 3rd quarter of $833 million, or $15.72 per diluted share, which compares to $597 million or $11.66 per diluted share, in the same period a year ago. The company said it earned $920 million, or $17.30 per share. Wall Street expectations for Priceline was EPS of $16.15 a share on revenue of $2.22 billion.

“The Priceline Group finished the summer travel season with strong growth and operating performance,” said Jeffery H. Boyd, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Priceline Group. “Booking.com and Agoda posted solid third quarter results leading to 36% room night growth for the Group, and the U.S. business of priceline.com showed positive momentum with accelerating bookings growth.”

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF) managed to turn a small profit for Q2 2014, which was marginally better than the loss that Wall Street had predicted. The company saw a $500,000 profit compared to the same quarter’s profit of $75 million a year ago. LGF said its bottom line took a hard hit by a $36.2 million payment for the early extinguishment of debt on its books. Adjusted earnings came in at $25.4 million, compared to adjusted earnings of $83.4 million in the prior-year-quarter. Sharply lower revenue of $498.7 million was down 29 percent compared to $707 million last year. This was well below analysts’ mean estimate of $528.9 million.

We completed a strong first six months of the year with a solid second quarter in which we generated robust free cash flow, continued to deliver our balance sheet and lowered our interest expense,” said Lionsgate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer. “We’re on track for another very good year and, with the worldwide launch of the next installment of our Hunger Games franchise on November 22, the ongoing diversification of our television business and a strong and growing presence on digital platforms, we are positioned to deliver growth for many years to come.”

Disclosure: Author represents that he has no position in any stocks mentioned in this article at the time this article was submitted.